How do you "downgrade"?

Craig, i'd like to print that one and frame it. If not for the laughter that it brought on, i could use it strictly as a reminder that i'm not the only one with those thoughts when reading "keep it simple" type of posts : )

As to Sos, you hit the nail on the head. I always start out simple, but somehow, i end up with a dozen components, wires all over the place, etc... Maybe i need to take Bbtuna's advice and nuke everything and take a break. Sean
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One thing to consider is going from pre-built stuff to Do It Yourself stuff. You can save a lot of money if you cut out the manufacturer and the distributer. www.bottlehead.com for instance has some modest, but quite nice (and very well priced!) tube preamp and amp kits. There is a whole lot out there. www.diyaudio.com is a great set of forums.

Plus, even if your homebuilt preamp doesn't sound quite as good as a top of the top preamp costing 20 times as much, it can be an excellent cost/performance value, and you'll like it more, because you built it with your own two hands. DIY can produce some amazingly good sound, at very good prices, with the added benefit of pride in your handiwork. Another benefit of DIY is a better understanding of how audio equipment works, which can give you a nice perspective, and let you better understand the differences in equipment. Also, you can easily modify your home built components to your exact wishes. Want to upgrade to a stepped attenuator? Easy! You know all the pinouts, because you made it yourself. :) Want to upgrade the powersupply? Thats fine, you know all the specs! Its fun, and educational, and can let you get a lot of satisfaction out of your system, without spending a ton of money.

Peace,
Sam

I have a very minimalist system consisting of some favorite reasonably priced components that I'm very happy with.I've been at it for a few years and have made my share of costly blunders.I have found the best way to downsize without compromising sound quality is buying and selling amongts the many friends I've made right here on Audiogon.Buying well cared for used gear has been my ticket to owning stuff I couldn't otherwise afford not to mention the sharing of knowlege in getting the best out of what you have.LONG LIVE AUDIOGONER'S!!!

Thanks Sean. I've surely printed a number of your posts-- the RS SPL correction table post comes to mind.

In keeping with the intent of the thread, which BTW is a good one IMO, I've considered going to a single box ML 39 CD player and a good integrated amp-- maybe the Levinson too-- if it sounded good. This route would still be fairly expensive, but much less so than my present system. But I like SR#20, and only intend to "downsize" when I get too senile to keep my present one operating.

If seriously "bucks down" though, I could be happy with a modest one box CD + integrated. Cheers. Craig

Turnaround, you just do it, and stop reading those glossy magazines. I did it, and lived happily for 7 years. Of course the fact that my children were going through developmental years helped. Coaching sports kept me distracted, sure, I didn't listen as much as I used too, but I still had a fairly nice system. I basically cut my system list price by about 60%, it was one of the only ways I could stop the continuos upgrade bug. I lived for 7 years without making 1 single change in my system. Of course I've since fallen off the wagon and am buying left and right again. Some of that has to do with the boys being teenagers and not hanging around much anymore. But it is critical that you stop reading the magazines. They will constantly make you feel like you're missing out on something. That's their job. Stop hanging around audio websites would probably help too. Sorry to say it, but you're only going to hold out so long when you read about everybody else's new toys.

John